Canadian survey sez half of HDTV buyers are clueless about high-def

Confusion amongst the general populace in regard to high-definition technology has been a problem for quite some time, and while we're not putting too much stock in the most recent survey about our neighbors up north, the results are fairly comical if nothing else. New poll findings from Nanos Research has discovered that 48-percent of the Canadians surveyed "confessed they were not at all knowledgeable about such features as 1080p resolution and pixel response times, compared to only 5-percent who considered themselves very knowledgeable." That being the case, HDTV sales in Canada still managed to surge some 72-percent last year, and around half of the participants did note that "concerns such as power consumption and toxins used in manufacturing" were very important when making their choice of HDTV. Granted, the survey was commissioned by Sharp in order to gloat about its "eco-friendly" AQUOS, but the bigger picture here is that the public at large is still a long ways away from really wrapping their heads around high-def.

[Image courtesy of HomeTheaterMag]

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 10:46AM]

I don't consider it all that bad for a general consumer to not know too much about the technical aspects of the product he or she is buying (resolution, pixel response, contract ratio). After all, unless you're an engineer or some other technical person, you probably don't know jack crap about the internal workings of most consumer electronics. As long as the TV looks good to the person buying it, that's all that really matters. What is really the sad thing is that most people don't understand how to even get an HD source into the TV, and most people don't even realize they're not watching HD when they don't have it. They're just impressed with a big picture, not necessarily a better one. Quantity over quality, that's what sells these days. Which is why a 1080p DLP will sell like hotcakes when a 720p plasma isn't even considered by your general consumer.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 11:42AM]

I used to work for a Video Rental Chain, and about 1-2 years ago, this older lady comes in and asks for a new movie, I show here where it's at and hand her the box. She looks at it and asks me "is it shot in high definition" ??? I'm like uhh yeah, most new movies are, but it's a DVD, it's not "high definition"

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 12:03PM]

Answering her with "yes it is" regardless of adding a "but..." is just confusing the situation.

You KNOW what she MEANT. A confused customer is not a target for semantics. "Ahh... but you didn't ask if that PARTICULAR movie was in HD!"

*sigh*

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 12:20PM]

Actually, I think you would doing her more of a favor by saying "No, it's not" given the fact that she's buying a DVD. It sounds to me like she's trying to find out if she's buying HD media (HD-DVD, Blyray) vs. buying SD media (DVD) as opposed to trying to find out at what quality the movie was originally filmed in. You don't want to say "Yes, it's shot in HD" and then have her find out later that her DVD is in fact not in HD. Better to just say "No" to her right away.

I actually don't blame people for being ignorant of the technology, if they don't want to put in the effort to learn, that's fine. But I do get fed up with people who are just plain wrong and spread rumors and myths about technology, like Plasma burn-in for example. I have a friend who insists that modern plasma still suffers from burn-in, which just isn't true. Well, technically, I suppose you could get burn-in on a plasma, but it would have to be on the same picture for weeks like in an airport terminal or something.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 11:57AM]

Great picture!

The results are not that surprising though. And in all honesty, it�s really no different now than it�s ever been with any piece of technology. Most people don�t want to know the details, they just want it to work. Even back in CRT days, the extent to which people researched before buying a TV was to ask �what�s a good brand name� and to look at the price and the picture in the store. Industry badges and buzzwords might help sway the decision ( �Wega�, �1080p�, �HD� etc) but I�m not sure most people know or care about what they really mean. And if it works for them it�s fine with me.

The one thing that does drive me bonkers is the shocking number of people with brand new 2000 dollar TV�s with a crappy stretched out picture that �gets rid of those black bars�. I have made it my personal crusade to educate my family and friends on the basics of aspect ratio and to set up their sets to automatically switch.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 12:13PM]

I am EXTREMELY tech savy (i'm a electrical engineer) and even I can't stand the black bars when viewing a 4:3 source on an HDTV. I set my TV to "Just" aspect ratio which means it stretches just the outside edges of the picture and leaves the center alone. It actually looks pretty good. I've tried "Zoom" mode (my dad uses this one) which just zooms in on the 4:3 source, chopping off the top and bottom, but I'd rather see the whole picture with the sides slightly stretched, than miss the top and bottom of the picture entirely.

I'm sure someone who is also tech savvy who can't stand the stretched 4:3 picture (even in "Just" mode) would look at my setup and assume I didn't know what I was doing not knowing that I chose the "Just" aspect ratio intentionally fully aware of what it means.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 2:43PM]

We need a new picture of Gary.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 14th 2008 11:44PM]

I use to sell hdtvs at futureshop and this is so true. Half my sales always came back to me when people got ome and complained "it doesent look like it did in the store" Of course I try to explain all about reesolution and an HD source, BEFORE I make the sale, and they always nod and agree because they just dont want to spend a dime extra and then they take their tv home and then complain when they hook up their cable through s-video and it looks like shit. I then remind them about how I told them they need to subscribe to an HD package to get hd channels and they get so confused and just return the tv. Sigh.